


Un Coeur Brisé

by Im_writing_out_of_time



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Canon Era, Choking, F/M, Maybe - Freeform, PTSD, Post American Revolution, Post Revolution, and i only learned the most basic shit ever, badly translated french, i haven't spoken french in two years, it's probably just as bad as google translate, oh well, possibly, post war era, so i might have mistranslated something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 20:34:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11425683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_writing_out_of_time/pseuds/Im_writing_out_of_time
Summary: Gilbert comes home from the war late, causing Peggy to worry. Is he dead and she never got word? Was he no longer interested in her? Did he go to France?(The answer is no, but ya boi Lafayette does have some PTSD.)





	Un Coeur Brisé

Peggy stood in the kitchen of her father's home, waiting for the day her beautiful Gilbert would be home. The men had won at Yorktown, the British waving a white flag. Alexander had returned home to Eliza two nights ago. But her Gilbert had yet to come home. Her hands were in the dishwater, and tears streamed down her face. Did Gilbert not plan to come home to her? 

She wiped the tears from her cheek with her wrist and dried her hands with a towel before drying the dishes she had washed and returned them to their cupboards. She focused on her tasks in a futile attempt to keep Gilbert from her mind. She could hear her sister giggling with Alexander in the parlor and the tears returned to her eyes. She blocked out everything other than drying and taking care of dishes. She was aware of someone walking in the kitchen but she didn't turn around. It had to be Alexander and Eliza getting ready for their daily walk. 

The last plate clattered in the cupboard and Peggy laid the towel on the counter before she leaned against the smooth surface of the sink and looked out the window. Alexander and Eliza were walking across the lawn, Alexander's hands animatedly gesturing whatever he was talking about and Eliza laughing. Peggy's heart ached for her beautiful Gilbert. She longed to hear him whisper French to her, she longed for him to continue their lessons; Gilbert had started teaching her French when he had last visited between battles. 

She wiped away the tears that were welling up in her eyes before turning to walk out of the room. She kept her eyes pointed downward, tracing the floorboards with her eyes. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused her eyes to dart up. Gilbert stood in the doorway, his boots shining, hair pulled back, looking impeccable in his continental blues. 

"Gilbert, it that really you?" 

He smiled and held his arms out to her. "Of course it is me, mon coeur. Come, it has been so long since I have embraced you in my arms, ma belle Margarita." 

"Oh, Gilbert!" she cried, running into his arms. "I thought you were not coming back to me. I thought you had run back to France without telling me. When Alexander had come two nights ago, and you had not, I was not sure what had happened, why you had not come to me yet."

 

"I could not think of running off to la belle France without you, ma chère. The next time I go, I plan on showing my wife my hometown, bring her to meet ma famille." 

"W-wife? Gilbert, what do you mean wife?" She was pulling away from him, preparing herself for her heart to break. "You have a wife?"

"No, not yet, Peggy." He fell to a bent knee and held out a tiny ring. "But if you'll allow me to, I'd like to make you my wife. I'd like to bring you to my home, to meet my family. I want to build a family with you, in our own home. And that home can be here, in America, in this new country we've fought for, in France, or wherever you want. Wherever you are will be home to me. So Margarita, will you allow me to be your husband? Will you become my wife?"

Peggy let out a shuddering laugh before she hit him on the shoulder. "I thought you were going to tell me you already had another family, another life!" She laughed before throwing herself at him, pushing him backwards to the floor. "Of course I will become your wife, Gilbert. I love you, my darling. I love you so much." 

He slipped the small ring on her finger and held her in his arms on the kitchen floor. "I love you so much, Peggy." 

Peggy sat up and looked at her fiancé. "Gilbert, you look so tired, my love." 

"I am Peggy. I came home two nights ago, I asked your father for your hand in marriage, and I have spent up until now worrying about if you would decline my wishes or not. But I could not bear the thought of going any longer without seeing you. I knew I had to swallow my fear and come to see you. I am so sorry to have worried you." 

As the couple laid on the floor, Peggy curled into his side, staring at his face, studying his features, memorizing them as though she would never see him again. He had dark circles beneath his eyes. A new scar was fading into the hairs of his eyebrow. She brought her delicate fingers to his face to trace the faint scar. "How did this happen?" 

"I wish I could tell you I received it fighting hand to hand to hand with a royal soldier, however, the truth is nowhere near as brave. So do you want to know the truth, mon chère, or do you want your fiancé to sound brave?"

Peggy giggled against his cheek. "How brave are you, my Gilbert? Tell me the tales of your infinite bravery."

Gilbert grabbed the hand that had traced across his face and held it between his hands. "My darling Peggy, it was dangerous. I was fighting against three redcoats in hand to hand combat. I had two of them down and the third was running away. I chased him, pushing him to the ground when another redcoat came behind me. He managed to get me on my back, on the ground, his sword to my face. I kicked the sword on his face and used it to knock him to the ground, smiting him with my sword. I killed all four men and saved the camp."

Peggy was giggling as she ran her fingers through his curls. "Okay, now what is the real true story?"

Gilbert's cheeks tinged pink. "I was riding horseback and the general in front of me let go of a branch and I did not have time to stop it and it hit my face." 

Peggy buried her face in Gilbert's chest and laughed. Her body was shaking with laughter and Gilbert laughed along with her. "I would rather you see me as brave, so can we act as though the prior story is true?"

Peggy pulled her face out of Gilbert's clothing and nodded her head at him, a grin stretching her cheeks. "If that is how you want it, then I shall act as if it is true, Gilbert." Her hand stroked the side of his face, her grin slowly easing into a tender smile. "Are you tired?"

"Not too bad," he whispered. 

Peggy pushed a stray curl behind his ear. "Your eyes betray you, Gilbert. You look as though you have not slept well in months." She wrestled her skirts out of the way, pushing herself to stand, holding her hand out to pull Gilbert off the floor. "Come Gilbert. You can rest in a bedroom upstairs."

Gilbert held her hand as she tried to lead him upstairs and instead pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. "I just got you back, Peggy. I cannot stay without you any longer."

"You can rest on the couch in the parlor with me. I think that would not be too intimate for an unmarried couple." 

"What about out in the grass? The sun is shining, we can lay beneath a tree in the wind. I can hold you close."

"It is your decision Gilbert. But know, where you go, I follow." 

He moved her to take her hands in his and he walked out the front door, Peggy following behind. "I would not want it any other way, mon amour." He chose a tree on the front lawn and tossed himself down, pulling Peggy on his lap. She giggled, laying her head on his chest. A yawn escaped her lips and she threw a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her mouth gaping open. 

"Pardon me," she said, a deep blush coloring her caramel skin. "I did not realize how tired I was myself." 

Gilbert smiled sleepily and pulled her head back down to his chest. "Do not feel ashamed, love. It is natural. Come. Rest with me, Margarita. It's obvious you have not slept much lately either." 

The couple fell asleep easily in each other's arms. A light breeze blowing, the sun shining on them, the grass moving in waves among them. Their breathing was in sync, chests rising and falling together in the spring air. 

Peggy was forced awake. She had been thrown to the ground. A body covered hers, pushing her into the soft grass. A hand wrapped her throat and dark curls fell in her face. Gilbert was screaming at her, rapid-fire French bursting from his mouth. She brought her hands to the back of his head, pulling at his hair. 

"Gilbert?" Warm tears were sliding down her cheeks. Her voice was grating from her throat. "Gilbert, mon amour." 

He kept screaming at her, his French too fast for her to comprehend completely. She could pull out words as he screamed. Enemy. Washington. General. Enemy. Speak. 

Her vision was getting hazy. She brought her knees up between them and pushed him off of her. He stumbled back, his eyes confused, angry. Peggy rushed to her feet, wrestling with her skirts. "Gilbert," she cried. "Please, stop this! This is not the Gilbert I love." 

He rushed at her, pinning her against the tree. She whimpered in pain as her head hit the hard trunk, Gilbert pinning her to the tree by her shoulders. His face was threateningly close to hers, pushing closer with each passing second. She was terrified but did the only thing she could. His arms were pushing her up, her feet lifting from the ground. She pushed against him, her lips attacking his, her only attempt to bring back her Gilbert. 

His lips were stone against hers, unmoving, but his grip fell from her and she crumpled to the ground. Her breathing was erratic and her throat was sore. Gilbert stood motionless, staring at the tree, his eyes full of confusion. He finally moved, looking down at Peggy, her hair was a mess, her skirts crumpled, a fearful look in her eyes as she held a hand to her throat, shielding it from his view. 

"Gilbert, mon amour, je t'aime beaucoup."

"Je t'aime beaucoup aussi, ma belle. What just happened?" He knelt beside her, her body shifting slightly away. "Peggy, what happened? My muscles are sore, but I remember nothing. I had a nightmare, I woke standing up, you on the ground. Margarita, what happened?"

She shook her head slightly. "Nothing, Gilbert. You just had a nightmare." Her naturally strong voice was only a whisper, her defiant gaze now cast away from him. 

"Did I hurt you?" his voice stuttered, thick with emotions. He lurched forward, pulling her hand from her throat. "Did I do this to you?" His fingers traced the bruise and he held his hand to it, the size and shape of the bruise a perfect replication of his hand. "Mon chère, je suis très désolé. Oh, Peggy. I am so sorry. Please, Peggy. Look at me." Her eyes turned to him, the fear gone, replaced with wariness. "Please, I will not hurt you. I understand if you no longer wish to marry. I only wish I could have stopped what my body was doing before it was able to hurt you."

"Gilbert, I still wish to marry you. I just have to have time to think about what just happened. I have to process everything."

"Please, Peggy. Do not push me away. I want to help you. I am so sorry. I thought it was all a nightmare. The solider I attacked did not have your face but was you the whole time. My mind is churning, my thoughts incompréhensible. Please, Peggy. I need you to keep me sane. I almost broke you, I almost broke my heart. But please, do not fear me. I could not stand the thought." He was on his knees, weeping, his hands bunched in her skirts. "Please, mon coeur, without you, my life is nothing. You are my heart, my soul. Without you, I am nothing. I love you, Peggy. Je t'aime avec tout mon coeur."

"Je t'aime beaucoup aussi, Gilbert. I could not leave you if I tried."

**Author's Note:**

> Stalk me on tumblr
> 
> @im-writing-out-of-time


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